A couple weeks ago, Little Sister disturbed a nest of ground bees and got stung. We were visiting our neighbors at the time, and I wasn’t sure what was wrong – I just knew she was hurt. When I picked her up, I got stung. Then, sure enough, Big Brother got stung, too. (It was then I figured out Little Sister’s ouchie was a bee sting.)
Once I got the three of us into our house, I found live bees hiding in the children’s clothing and quickly killed the insects. Finally I was able to calm my children and search exactly how to treat bee stings. With three of us suffering, I was able to try many different methods. Here they are – I’ll share what worked and what didn’t.
First, remove the stinger. Then, wash the bee sting with soap and water. Next, ease the pain with one of these methods:
1. Apply an ice pack. (This remedy worked wonders!)
2. Make a paste of baking soda and water. Apply to sting. (This remedy did not ease any of my pain.)
3. Crush fresh parsley. Apply to sting. (This remedy did not ease any of my pain, either.)
4. Crush fresh basil. Apply to sting. (Like the fresh parsley remedy, this did not ease any of my pain.)
5. Dab apple cider vinegar on the sting. (This was the most effective remedy for me!)
6. Accidentally Green readers Jamie and Tami both suggested applying a paste made of meat tenderizer and water. (Unfortunately, I didn’t have any meat tenderizer, so I couldn’t try this.)
7. Cover with a dot of mustard. (I did not attempt this remedy.)
8. Cover with honey. (Because of the stickiness, I did not attempt this remedy.)
9. Accidentally Green reader Kristen suggested dabbing the sting with peppermint essential oil or PanAway essential oil. (I didn’t have either one.)
10. The following day, my neighbor brought me a tube of Pinxav
Talk back
What bee sting remedies have worked for you?
Disclosure: Purchasing Pinxav through this post will result in a small commission for Accidentally Green.
Sources
15 Bee Sting Home Remedies & Tips
Photo credit
James Barker/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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After 2348 stings over my 11 years as a beekeeper (yes, I count and, yes, I’m a nerd) a sting doesn’t cause swelling and itching any more, but the pain sure remains. Getting the stinger out IMMEDIATELY is the best way to minimize reactions. A lot of folks use Benadryl to relieve symptoms. I’m not sure what type of bee a ground bee is–can you post a pic? Yellow jackets live in the ground and react as you describe, but they’re a wasp, and they don’t leave the stinger behind, so they can sting multiple times. Wasps and I do NOT get along at all–I swell up like a balloon! Good post :) – Bill (like us on FaceBook at Farmer Bill’s Produce & Honey page)
Hi Farmer Bill!
Benadryl was my first thought, but at the time I was home alone with the kids and didn’t want to be knocked out if they did start to react and I needed to drive them to the hospital.
Maybe we did get stung by yellow jackets … I didn’t get a photo of whatever stung us. I’m just certain we didn’t get stung by a bumblebee or honeybee. (I tried Googling ground bees, but the results didn’t clarify matters.)
At any rate, I do know that we miss your honey! While we’ve found beekeepers close to our new home, the honey doesn’t taste like yours.
Hope all is going well!
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Great ideas to try. I like Absorbine Jr for all sorts of things.
Great info! Love these natural remedies vs. applying questionable chemicals… :)
-Kayla
Chewing up a plantain leaf and then putting it on the sting works well. Plantain is a great herb to learn, it is often in the yard, and can be used for many different things.
Thanks so much for sharing this remedy, Stacey!
We were just camping and there was a crazy yellow jacket problem. My 3 y.o. was stung within the first few hours of our arrival. We applied ice immediately, it really is a great, simple remedy.
If there had been plantain nearby, I would have reached for that next. However, I carry in my first aid kit a lovely product called Eden Salve. It is THE best. I have no affiliation with this company or anything, so this is a genuine, I use this at home plug.
Thanks for telling about Eden Salve! I checked the description, and was impressed to hear that it can help so many different problems. What a good thing to have in your first aid kit. :)
Hi Hilary! Other than a summer straight out of our Missouri childhood in terms of temperatures, life is good! Honey crop this year is going to be excellent. I enjoy your posts; hope you don’t mind me sticking in my two cents’ worth of kibbitzing now and then :). — Bill
Great information here. So far we haven’t had any stings yet – but while visiting our new house, I noticed the remains of a bee or wasp nest on the ground…so I may be using some of these remedies soon. @_@ Thanks for linking up at Mommy Teaches. I hope you’ll link up again.
I have always used the baking soda and water paste. As long as there’s not a severe allergic reaction, it’s safe, quite inexpensive and has ALWAYS worked for my family. I used to be a preschool teacher and used it in my preschool as well… The trick is to let the paste DRY and flake off. Do not wipe it off… Usually by the time it all flakes off, the pain and swelling are gone and there’s no more issues. (Some also use meat tenderizer, but I never have)
My sister, on the other hand, SWEARS that putting a COPPER penny on the sting, covering it with a band-aid and leaving it overnight, works, but… that’s not as immediate as “my” remedy.